MOSCOW. June 19 (Interfax) - Outbreaks of West Nile fever and other diseases are possible in the flooded areas of the Kherson region as the water level goes down in the Dnieper, Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces Commander Igor Kirillov said.
"The flooding in the Kherson region, plotted by the Kiev regime, may aggravate the situation, including that with arbovirus infections," Kirillov said at a press briefing on Monday.
"Outbreaks of mosquito-borne infections, first of all, West Nile fever, are possible after the water recedes," he said.
Valves and other elements of the Kakhovka HPP's surface infrastructure were destroyed in the early hours of June 6, causing an uncontrolled discharge of the Dnieper's water downstream of the Kakhovka reservoir in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Moscow accused the Ukrainian side of destroying the Kakhovka HPP. A criminal case has been opened on terrorism charges.
Water levels rose to 12 meters in riverside communities of the Kherson region. Eight thousand residents of three city districts, Novaya Kakhovka, Alyoshki and Golaya Pristan, had to be evacuated.